1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toothbrush and, more particularly, to a toothbrush with mobile bristle groups and, most particularly, to a toothbrush with mobile bristle groups for vertical brushing of teeth.
2. Background Information
The toothbrush is a commonly known and used object. The toothbrush consists of a handle and a head that holds the bristle groups for cleaning teeth. The present invention provides an improved toothbrush that is different in that the bristle groups are freely and controllably mobile instead of being fixed by their bases to the head of the toothbrush.
Most individuals brush their teeth by moving the toothbrush horizontally, across the teeth. The dentists advise that the toothbrush should be moved vertically to clean the teeth and the space between neighboring teeth properly and hygienically. Despite the advice of the dentists and the person's intention to follow that advice, individuals inevitably move the brush horizontally. The vertical brushing toothbrush allows users to follow the habit of brushing horizontally; that is moving the brush horizontally, while the bristle groups move vertically, almost perpendicular to the direction of movement of the brush. The vertical brushing toothbrush brings to life the decades old dental concept of brushing the teeth vertically so as to provide maximum cleaning of the teeth.
It is not ergonomic or convenient to use the human arm to move the toothbrush vertically. This requires flicking the wrist up and down while holding the elbow still. This movement is performed by the smaller muscles of the forearm that move the wrist. Whereas, movement of the toothbrush horizontally, using the sizable and powerful biceps and triceps, the user is able to put some power into those movements, and this intrinsically makes the brushing process more convenient and easier. The vertical brushing toothbrush lets users brush their teeth with horizontal movements of the brush, while still achieving maximum cleaning, because the bristles move vertically, almost perpendicular to the direction of the brush.
According to the present invention, a toothbrush is provided that has means for bristle groups which move almost vertically. The vertical brushing toothbrush does not use batteries or electricity. The effective cleaning is purely the result of the bristles moving almost perpendicular to the horizontal direction of movement of the brush. The absence of electronic parts makes the novel toothbrush cheap to manufacture, as compared to toothbrushes that offer enhanced cleaning based on a motorized head that moves the bristles. Besides, a motorized toothbrush interferes with the natural act of brushing teeth. The absence of electrical parts makes the present invention more environmentally friendly.
The vertical brushing toothbrush uses fewer bristles than ordinary toothbrushes. The hollow spaces inside also reduce the amount of plastic or other material required for manufacture. Regardless of the material used for manufacture, this can be expected to lower cost of manufacture. Suitable materials for manufacturing the toothbrush include commonly used material, such as polypropylene.
In ordinary tooth brushes, only the tip of the bristles can move since the base of each bristle is fixed. The vertical brushing toothbrush is unique in that each group of bristles moves in its entirety. Each bristle group is mounted on a moveable sliding base, which enables easy gliding movements, almost perpendicular to the horizontal direction of movement of the brush.
The vertical brushing toothbrush is a fundamentally different type of toothbrush, where the bristle clusters are on mobile bases and are independently mobile. This gives the act of brushing teeth a new flexibility that is lacking in all previous toothbrushes.